


Roses

by lostway7



Category: Dreamcatcher (Korea Band)
Genre: Blood, Blood Drinking, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff, Mentions of Violence, Minseok's a good boy, Multi, Pining, Side Gahdong and Yura, They're idiots in love, Vampires, unnecessary drama
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-20
Updated: 2021-03-27
Packaged: 2021-03-29 02:35:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30149445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostway7/pseuds/lostway7
Summary: What are the odds for life, after everything they went through, decide to play with them again so recklessly? To extend the red lines hugging them to a different soul? Why paint their sky with such a different shade when blue and pink are pretty on their own?OrIn which Minji and Siyeon had been together, and in love, for centuries now and are ready for a war, maybe the end of the world, but have their lives completely shaken by clumsy, endearing, and utterly captivating (human) Yoohyeon.
Relationships: Kim Minji | JiU/Kim Yoohyeon, Kim Minji | JiU/Kim Yoohyeon/Lee Siyeon, Kim Minji | JiU/Lee Siyeon, Kim Yoohyeon/Lee Siyeon
Comments: 6
Kudos: 52





	1. Different kinds

**Author's Note:**

> So the day for me to post here has finally arrived (it took me longer than expected, I'm surprised) and for now what I can say is: this is a mess, so don't expect too much. I'm still figuring things out (this place is complicated) and this project almost drove me insane. I still like it though, so I hope that whoever decides to read this enjoys it too.  
> Worth noting that english isn't my native language so mistakes may happen and certain things may sound weird too, so bear with me and be patient please.  
> Other than that, I hope you have a good time :D

_ > Run with me, I promise we’ll find the sun _

  
  


Time, Siyeon thought, was a strange thing.

She never really understood why this carefully regulated thing had so much power over people’s lives, but she constantly caught herself thinking about it, watching over the repetitive movement of the clock when her mind was too tired and reflecting about how, for her, it didn’t make sense. 

The centuries she carried with her provided an odd feeling, especially because she couldn’t quite place certain events in a perfect timeline, and at this point, she doubted the real nature of most of the images part of her consciousness declared to be memories or dreams; it could be one, it could be both, she couldn’t be sure, but of course there were moments she wouldn’t be able to forget even if she wanted to, as well as she would never be allowed to erase all the versions of herself that lived inside her body until the present one finally decided to come about. 

When Siyeon was young, a mere newborn trying to adapt to everything that making part of a clan meant, she was the typical reckless vampire anyone could expect. She cared about fresh blood, having fun, showing off her skills, and having a beautiful woman by her side at the end of every night, the rest was just a bother waiting to pick on her and responsibilities she never asked for in the first place. 

Back then she still had a clan to stick to, a community to be known for, and the few bad parts of it were the frequent social gatherings, the snob parties that lasted for too long, and the people she had to pretend to like in order to not have her head ripped off of her body so soon. She met a lot of people through these occasions, some she carried with her for the rest of her damned life, some she would rather forget their very existence, however, there was one person that was different from all the others.

One that felt just like the anxious turns of the watch she kept with her and whose presence reminded her of an ongoing pendulum.

When they first met, Minji and Siyeon barely recognized each other’s existence. Their clans weren’t friends, even if the line they walked on always leaned to more of a friendly one despite the constant teasing, small battles just for the sake of fighting, and the blatant rivalry they fed for no specific reason. The two would get satisfied with a little nod in forceful greeting and that was it, they could go on with their night without worrying or caring about the other for long.

Their relationship, if this could even be considered one, followed like this for uncountable years, though at some point they started to at least put some effort in talking for a few minutes and ignore the awkwardness of every new meeting. 

Siyeon used to think she didn’t need anyone. She was good on her own and partnerships or any type of long-term relationship wasn’t something she liked — “ _it’s too complicated and tiring, I have better things to do,_ ” she would state whenever someone asked her about it. Life was easier and less stressful when she depended solely on herself and she liked the solitude, liked the lack of worry with commitment or the nerve-wracking desire of reaching someone else’s expectations — or so she thought. 

If her younger self saw her now centuries later, she would probably be ashamed to death and disgusted with every bit of her being. Siyeon could clearly imagine a younger version of herself screaming nonstop while asking why, or how, things ended up being the way it did, what could possibly be so good about living a “restrained” life and indulging herself in all the things she swore not need, not want and not fight for.

And honestly, the vampire envied some of the freedom and tranquility this Siyeon had. Now she was a lot more careful, sometimes verging on paranoia, and after all she went through, she couldn’t dare to deny certain things, certain feelings, and certain people.

One of them being love. Younger Siyeon usually scowled over the word and rejected it in every way she could find, because love has always been a synonym for pain and she hated how crazy it could make someone feel. 

“Hey, I need to focus here,” Minji protested with half a laugh while Siyeon invaded her shirt with cold and sneaky hands. “It’s an important mission, Singnie,” she tapped the black controller.

“But you’ve been in front of this goddamn tv the whole day, I need attention!” Siyeon didn’t stop her hands while a huge pout made its way to her lips, loving to see how the other woman tried to stay composed. “If you don’t fulfill my need for love and affection I might explode!” 

“Don’t be overdramatic,” Minji rolled her eyes with an easy smile on her face, one only Siyeon could cause and relented to the constant whines of her girlfriend. “I’m leaving the mission for another day then, satisfied? I was really invested though,” she mumbled to herself and finally opened her arms for Siyeon to jump into after turning off everything. “Why are you so clingy today?”

Her hand automatically went to Siyeon’s hair to start caressing it in the way she knew the other loved and Siyeon sighed in delight, both from the caress and the feeling of having Minji so close.

“That’s because I adore you,” she snuggled into the vampire’s chest. “And every minute far away from you is torture.”

What a surprise it would be for her to find out that rejecting and refusing this feeling so profusely wouldn’t do its work and she would end up in soft, warm arms while love whispers were directed at her like a prayer, one she learned how to translate without even trying and who never failed to take her to the moon.

That Siyeon only realized how big and destructive her pride was when she found herself alone in a world that had no intention of welcoming her. Her clan fell apart in a million pieces when humans and other creatures decided it was war and killing was a hobby, a competition even to some people, and surviving became a harder task compared to how she viewed it as a game back then — she started to hate the battlefield and bloodshed the moment she realized how cruel it was for all the sides involved. 

Fortunately, she lived enough to watch every single aspect of her surroundings changing a million times, sometimes for the better, usually for the worst, and for a long period she was completely alone. Sure she had everything she needed and lived the life she devoted herself to since the beginning, but it was an awfully and painfully lonely existence. The silence she learned to appreciated quickly turned into one of her demons, following her everywhere she went and terrorizing her when darkness arrived too soon, making every small fragment of happiness vanish before she could grasp on it.

There wasn’t space for denial anymore. There wasn’t space for her pride and ego to be bigger than her and she learned the hard way how miserable life could be.

Minji appeared somewhere in the middle of her struggles with dealing with all the losses she suffered and accepting that it wasn’t life that had to adapt to her, but the other way around. She came like the promise of a new light dressed in an unsettling presence; she wasn’t really there, Siyeon couldn’t tell if they lived in the same country for most of the time they knew each other and for some decades she even started to believe Minji wasn’t alive, but the older vampire was no longer hiding on some random mountain and stumbling into each other became a pleasant, though surprising, habit for them.

But things had never been easy and the start was… Complicated.

The first few years went by with them coming and going out of each other’s lives like uncontrollable variables that always ended up in similar places while they refused to clear their own feelings and desires. They didn’t know what they were, but they found a unique type of solace in each other’s arms that forced them to collide again and again until leaving wasn’t an option anymore. 

At first glance, Minji was too serious, too stiff, too know-all, and too used to getting things her way to even care about different opinions or possibilities, however, Siyeon also learned she had gone through a similar process of destruction and reconstruction as hers and in the end, Minji was trying like everyone else. Trying to swallow what they had to leave behind, trying to comprehend how the world was evolving without bothering to check on them or if they were able to keep up with, trying to do better, trying _to be_ better despite all the baggage and her stubborn nature.

Maybe that’s why Siyeon quickly figured letting Minji go would be one of the worst mistakes she could possibly make.

“I saw everything I had burn down right in front of my eyes,” she confessed one night while they laid glued to each other’s naked and exhausted bodies. “And I was so angry, I felt so much pain that I wiped out a whole village by myself, but was it fair to all these people? I lost a lot, but they did too, the difference is that only one side was able to explode and get some vengeance,” a dry chuckle left her lips and Siyeon held her tighter. “But at what cost? Maybe they weren’t wrong about me being a monster, after all.”

“Don’t say that,” Siyeon whispered with no strength, hating how the self-hatred they combated so strongly always found a way to overtake the shine on Minji’s eyes. “They would be the first ones to point their weapons at you if the roles were reversed.”

“I don’t need a weapon Siyeon, I am one,” she traced her finger on the vampire’s skin slowly. “And they were only protecting what they loved the most.”

Siyeon exhaled heavily, aware that one of the things about healing was understanding the pain in order to take care of it, but still being unable to not despise how such memories still took a hold of her lover and of her too.

Figuring out what they had in their hands became easier when both concluded how simple things could be if they simply didn’t try to complicate it. They liked and disliked many things about each other, had similar tastes in a lot of things, and loved to spend their late afternoons analyzing how weird and fascinating the human world could be. They longed for every second where they could be together, be it on their bed resting after a long day or in the living room when they decided to watch some crime documentary that always ended up with them having different views and conclusions over it, and the comfort they found in the small paradise they built on that hidden mansion was everything they could possibly want.

The weight of the lifetimes they skipped was still there to haunt them, however, they weren’t the kids they once were and if life decided to send another army of tragedies to get and break them, they were ready. Ready to fight back, to fight for what they achieved after so much pain and so many restless battles, but also ready to step back, to look at things the way they were and accept that making sense wasn’t, and still isn’t, one of fate’s strongest suits. 

_ > I’m still collecting flowers for you _

Change has always been a force that moved Minji. 

Since young she had this need to go out of the path she knew well, to follow a different flow, and go against what lived inside her comfort zone. She liked the thrill of not knowing what waited for her behind a new door, loved the unknown voices calling her name in the distance like the chant of unpredictable adventures, and lived for the energy that started on her chest, right where her heart rested, and spread like wildfire through her whole body when she was faced with a new challenge, which she couldn’t be sure if she could overcome but that she was sure she would do anything to win over.

Even if her exterior was marked by a type of politeness and calmness not so common of people like her, deep down she was always in an unending roller-coaster. Her thoughts moved like bullet trains and her emotions could bring what was most raw and honest about her when, for a split of seconds, she failed to contain herself or bottle up her instincts. 

Minji was a free spirit and her longing for freedom didn’t die with her on the day of her transformation, on the contrary, it got _stronger_ , more unbeatable, and fed the flames in her eyes as no other thing could. 

It was only when she was faced by the pure cruelty that resided within her and the people she grew up with that part of the magic disappeared. Battle after battle she felt more distant from the joyful girl that she was so accustomed to feeling under her skin, attack after attack she found herself one step closer to a precipice of darkness and bitterness that could change her forever, and death after death she started to lose the hope that some people always praised, while others mocked her for. 

Then, when she could finally settle down and dedicate herself to forget the nightmare that she lived for centuries, change became an escapism for her. 

Changing her wardrobe was a ritual she did every four months in order to stay sane — she was probably the most fashionable person to walk through the city in many periods of time and she was envied to death by some of the women, and men, she stumbled upon. She never stayed for too long in the same place and by the time she met Siyeon after years of thinking she had vanished from Earth, she had already visited twenty countries and had enough affairs to make her hesitate in coming. Her hair was always different, even if just slightly, and it wasn’t a surprise when she became obsessed with games in all its types and forms.

She only came to realize the real reason for this fixation with not staying the same when Siyeon made her question how much she really wanted to leave the bits of life she cultivated in every place she stepped on.

“You look so good for this party, it should be a crime,” she commented when Siyeon stopped in front of the big mirror they had in their room, not caring to hide how affected she was by the woman in that black dress. “Though it’s going to be pure boredom for the rest of the night, I think I won’t complain too much as long as you stay close to me.”

“You see, following you can be tiring,” Siyeon analyzed the lipstick painting her lips a vivid red and smiled in satisfaction, both from her looks and Minji’s intense stare on her back. “You’re the one who wants to greet everyone and pretend to like these terrible people.”

Minji nodded in recognition, not too proud about that.

“Bad habits don’t disappear so easily, my love,” she ran a hand through her hair, crossing her legs to stop herself from urging forward and pining Siyeon to the closest wall she could find. “Remember I’m an entertainer when I want. I’m here to give them a good laugh or two, mess with their heads and make them believe they're worth something, but I also need to make people remember me, because if they don’t… It means my job wasn’t done correctly,” she sighed.

Siyeon searched in the mirror for the subtle red eyes she loved so much and took a breath.

“You liked to make yourself a character back then, Minji. You don’t need this anymore,” Siyeon said with a soft tone. “You’re not leaving again tomorrow, people won’t forget you that fast.”

“How can you be sure?” Minji looked up as Siyeon started to get closer. “Maybe they like chameleons more than lions.”

“I don’t know about them, but I like you just like this, even if I had loved other versions of you in the past, too,” Siyeon cupped the vampire’s cheeks, caressing it. “Your pieces make you who you are, but you’re not just that,” she looked deep inside Minji’s eyes, smiling at how bright they were. Diving into them felt like discovering a whole new world. “You’re more than the skeletons on our closet and the suitcases you used to carry around like your only reminder of a home.”

At that moment, Minji felt tears gather on the sides of her eyes and she carefully brought Siyeon closer to hold her waist in an attempt to stop her emotions from overflowing. And she used to think jumping from bed to bed was more of a satisfying thing than having this? This peace? This stability? How did she even dare to consider leaving Siyeon in the past?

“Why stay?” She asked like many times before and Siyeon only ran her hand through the red, silky hair. 

“If you leave I’m going with you,” she shrugged. “You’re not slipping through my fingers again.”

Turns out changing constantly became more connected to her desire to distance her consciousness from the person that lived under her skin than to her well-known taste for new beginnings. The loathe that broke her veins whenever she looked in the mirror suffocated her every damn time and putting up a character, creating someone she could erase the next morning, was easier than facing the fear of not recognizing what she had become and hating with every part of her the person she was.

Good thing Siyeon stuck by her side even when she didn’t deserve it. Good thing Siyeon decided to let go of some of her restraints to help her see that, after all, there was still something worth fighting for, worth wanting, and worth going through hell and back in order to keep it safe. They both had their scars, their hands were still stained with blood and the number of souls they carried as a punishment could drive anyone insane, and just like they didn’t deny their faults, they were aware that not everything was under their control. 

Minji never stopped looking at the stars and asking for forgiveness when she was able to muster the courage to and Siyeon still sang songs that were already lost in time, perhaps on her own way to not forget the only good thing she could take out of all the bad ones. 

“If we were humans I would make sure to get us to work with music so you could show that beautiful voice of yours to the world,” she whispered while watching Siyeon in front of her beloved piano. “I could write you love songs and you could sing them and enchant everyone, we would be the best duo out there.”

“You already do that without us being famous, Minji,” she was shy, the older vampire could tell, and this only made Minji fall even harder for her. “Sometimes it’s embarrassing to sing the things you write. It’s cheesy and usually makes me want to punch you,” she played some loose notes, a happy smile on her lips.

Minji stood up from her seat and slowly walked to sit next to the other vampire, not taking much to accompany her with the loose touches.

“You make fun of me but I swear I try to be good with words. I know how important music is for you,” she looked to her side, admiring her girlfriend’s side profile. “And I’m still immensely grateful you allow me to see this part of you. Writing these songs is just my way of saying thank you, I’m sorry and I love you,” Siyeon stopped moving her fingers over the black and white just to look at Minji, seeing the shadows dance delicately in her expression. “One day I’ll be able to write a song worthy of every effort and energy you put into singing it. Just wait for me for a little bit.” 

Siyeon couldn't hold herself and the next thing she knew she was crashing her lips against Minji’s, silently telling she understood her, that her teasing wasn’t completely true and that Minji had magic in her hands in more ways than she seemed to know. 

Indeed Minji worked her ass off constantly to achieve that string of perfection that would fit with her favorite voice of all time, as well as she constantly found herself giving Siyeon little flowers here and there just for the sake of watching that beautiful smile rise like the sun on a summer morning. Her need for change never left her, but she was back to her roots, looking in the details for a shortcut to reach that freedom that past Minji dreamed of owning, and as long as she had Siyeon by her side, this would always be just one step ahead of her. 

Maybe, what she didn’t expect was to find a pathway to this very thing, to this very destination she tried to figure out a map to guide her uncountable times, in one of the lucky strikes destiny liked to offer to those who, somehow, earned a bit of consideration from the powerful beings watching over them.

_ > One for the kid, two for the human, three for what we found _

  
  


The couple wasn’t one to socialize with humans, they knew the dangers of it and preferred the safety of their home. Nonetheless, Minji still had the soul of an energetic kid, and Siyeon, though a homebody who had no problem with spending her time inside the house, learned early in the game that denying anything to the woman was an impossible thing to do. She would rather accept all the weird suggestions, as tiring as they could be, than watch disappointment grow on Minji’s features and this always caused her to have to give up part of her uneventful days to follow her girlfriend anywhere she wanted to go.

But Siyeon had no complaints about that. She would follow Minji to the edge of the universe if she wanted her to and be happy as long as Minji felt happy too.

During the weekdays most of the nights were dedicated to doing something out of the ordinary, usually arranged by Minji and her creative mind, while on the weekends they would stick to a more simple thing, which often ended up with them visiting somewhere far away from the city or hidden in the middle of the huge buildings and loud noises.

The day they met _her_ they were just taking a walk in the park. It was more crowded than usual, with kids running everywhere, people searching for different things to busy themselves as a bright glow of delight filled any space they could put their eyes on. The warm weather greeted anyone who looked at it with a smile and the two were more than happy since Bora and her wife, Yubin, had contacted them right when the morning knocked on their door.

“Who do you think will be the cool mom?” Minji asked when they sat on a stone bench to watch the sunset. She quickly found her way to Siyeon’s arms and the other made sure to hold her tight. 

“I think it’s easier to ask who’s going to be the crazy mom,” Siyeon chuckled, still amazed by the information that of all people, Yubin and Bora were the first ones in the group to choose something like this. “I bet Yubin will pair up with the kid to bother Bora and Bora will make sure to catch every single opportunity to mess with Yubin and drag the kid with her. I still don’t know how they didn’t kill each other yet or how they’ll manage that.”

“You’re not wrong,” Minji nodded, trying to imagine how the couple would handle everything. “I’m sure they’ll be great mothers, what I’m not sure is if the house, or if they, will survive the experience. Let’s hope for the kid to be more like us, I’ll work hard to take care of them.” 

“Of course you will,” Siyeon rolled her eyes, affection blooming on her chest. “You’ll try to spoil them as much as you can.”

“If there’s no cool mom, then there’s the cool aunt,” she stated, clicking her tongue when both she and Siyeon realized an approaching sound. “Speaking of kids, this one will have an ugly fall if he doesn’t stop in time.”

“Poor thing and the dog with him will probably suffer too.” 

A few seconds of silence. Minji sighed.

“You won’t even pretend you want to help?” She turned to look at Siyeon’s falsely offended expression. “I thought we agreed on being nicer to humans.”

“I’m pretty nice to them, I haven’t killed one in decades!” She protested with a pout and a whine. “I need some entertainment sometimes. Don’t look at me like that!”

Minji denied with a small laugh, dumbfounded.

“It’s not about that and you know it,” she distanced herself from Siyeon’s embrace, watching her frown in pure disapproval. “It’s a kid, Siyeon. Stop being like this for a second, we don’t want anyone crying their eyes out tonight, right?” 

“Okay, miss superhero,” Siyeon rolled her eyes even harder, crossing her arms when Minji stood up and slowly started to walk to her position. “What will be my prize for being a good girl?” She mumbled, surrendering and leaving her seat too. 

“You need a prize for this?!” Minji widened her eyes. “I can’t believe you… But fine, ask me this later when we get back home,” she winked at Siyeon and the other vampire lighted up. 

“Maybe this isn’t so bad,” she concluded with a satisfied sigh.“Oh, here he comes,” Siyeon whispered when the small, rushed figure could be seen in the distance. “I take care of the dog.”

“Only because you’re afraid of kids,” she teased and Siyeon stuck her tongue to her. 

Minji smiled at her girlfriend's antics one last time before turning, having to wait only twenty seconds for the boy to get closer, trip over his own foot, and scream in hopes of hitting his face on the grass while his ice cream flew from his hand in dramatic speed.

“Hey there little boy,” she called as her hands caught him, stopping his fall and the wounds he would get. “What are you so rushed for?” Minji got down on one knee to help him find his balance, his breathing erratic and an expression of fear painting his face. 

Not so far from them, Siyeon was going around trying — and failing — to stop the brown pomeranian running like its life depended on it, completely oblivious to the boy’s almost accident, and Minji had to stop herself from laughing out loud.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered shyly once he started calming down. “I was just playing with Pie,” his shoulders went down and Minji nodded, tapping his back in order to comfort him.

“Don’t worry, I’m happy you’re not hurt,” he finally looked up and his cheeks got red when he found the smile directed at him.

“This one really puts up a fight, huh?” Siyeon’s tired voice approached them and the dog ran over to the boy instantly, completely unbothered by the vampire’s efforts. “And I fear it doesn’t like me a single bit,” she grimaced with crossed arms, seemingly heartbroken.

“She’s a bit difficult to like strangers, but she’s cool,” he petted the dog with a pout on his lips. “No ice cream for us, Pie. Yoohyeon will kill us.”

“Who’s-”

Before Minji could finish her sentence a tall and desperately worried woman emerged on the horizon, screaming and running in their direction with no control over her own limbs. The vampire stood up and the boy hid behind his savior with the dog in his arms, sensing the scold he would get right away, and Siyeon took a breath, getting ready to catch the human before her girlfriend commanded her to.

“I think we have our answer.”

Just like the boy, the tall human tripped over her own foot, but it was clear that her fall would be really, really bad if Siyeon hadn’t intervened on time. Her body gave out the moment the vampire’s arms took a hold of her waist and the sweat dripping from her forehead was enough to tell she had been through an exhausting run. 

“Easy, easy,” Siyeon breathed out with her, watching closely her tries of bringing air to her lungs. 

“Good luck, little boy,” Minji said. “You’re gonna need it.”

It took Yoohyeon a lot more time than she expected to finally get her breathing stable and her body to work properly. Siyeon let go of her the moment she was sure the human wouldn’t fall, aware of how shy she would feel once she realized their position and the couple watched the tiredness turn into worry just to change to slight annoyance a second later.

“Minseok, I’ve told you a million times not to go running like you’re in your own house!” Her voice was a lot less angered than she appeared to be and Siyeon arched her eyebrow. “My brother will want my head if something happens to you,” she called for him to get out of his hiding and he hesitantly did. 

The woman checked if there was anything out of place in his body and sighed heavily. 

“For someone with small legs you run fast,” they grinned at each other and the boy took this as a sign of him not being in trouble. “You too,” she petted the pomeranian’s head.

“It’s okay, the pretty woman saved me,” he turned to get Minji’s hand and the couple thought they could pinpoint the moment the human’s soul left her body. “And the other pretty woman saved you. There’s nothing to worry about,” he pondered a little. “Just about my ice cream. I want another one.”

One hand went to her face as she straightened her posture, completely not ready to face the two watching her and her nephew with curious eyes. 

“I’m sorry about this,” she tried her best to not let her voice tremble when she remembered how strong arms held her moments ago. “We should be more careful.”

“I already told him it’s okay, but carefulness is never a bad thing,” the sweet voice assured. “We don’t want anyone getting hurt, right, Singnie?”

“Yeah,” the vampire nodded, exchanging tense glances with Pie. “Why is she looking at me like she wants to rip my hand off my arm?”

Only then Yoohyeon found the courage to look up and what welcomed her almost made her fall again. Minseok was far from wrong and it didn’t take much for her to accept that the women standing in front of her were probably the most insanely gorgeous and deadly attractive people she has ever had the honor to see in her life.

“Pie, they’re friends,” the boy explained to the dog who barked in response. “Exactly, you should be thankful. You’re the one who should be afraid, not her. Have you seen your size?” And the dog barked again, more loudly this time. “Don’t argue with me, I’m right!”

“Are they talking to each other?!” Siyeon’s eyes went wide and Yoohyeon chuckled, unintentionally catching their attention.

“It’s their thing, they seem to understand each other well,” she rested her hand on the boy’s shoulder. “I think it’s time to go.”

Minseok furrowed his eyebrows, looking at the couple.

“I didn’t even ask the name of the pretty woman,” he protested, not wanting to go just yet.

“They’re probably busy, Minseok,” Yoohyeon caressed his hair and he looked at the ground.

Minji watched the interaction with a hint of interest in her eyes, her gaze lingering a little more on the side profile of the tall woman while she tried to convince the boy not to feel too sad, and by the silence Siyeon was keeping she could be sure her girlfriend was just as curious about the funny duo in front of them. 

The soft touch of Siyeon’s hand on her waist gave her the confirmation she needed and with a clear of her throat, Minji called.

“You said you want another ice cream, right? How about I buy one and you tell me about your ability to communicate with dogs?” 

Yoohyeon opened her mouth to refuse the suggestion, however, the surprise and nervousness from the sudden proximity of the two stopped her in her tracks, giving plenty of space for her nephew to answer happily.

“Look, Pie, they’re coming with us!” he cheered and the dog barked, not so happy. “C’mon, don’t be like this, we’ve talked about that,” he whined, running to hold Minji’s free hand. “Let’s go, let’s go!”

“You don’t need to do that,” she bit her lip subtly and the two just shrugged.

“Relax,” Siyeon smiled and Yoohyeon swallowed a whisper in surprise. “We’re free and he just went through a terrifying experience.”

Yoohyeon tried to deny the offer again but the glint in Minji’s eyes, plus her soft responses to Minseok’s excited cheering, locked all the nervous words in her throat, forcing her to breathe in for a second in order to regain her composure and relent to the warmth the small group offered to her. 

That was probably one of the happiest nights of Minseok’s short life and though he was as uninterested in the adults and their stuff as Pie, he could sense from afar how Yoohyeon was trying her best to keep a good behavior around his new favorite strangers and not let her clumsiness get in the way. He made his way to a free table the moment he found the opportunity, conscious about how entranced for each other the three were. 

“The adults are so weird,” he caressed Pie’s fur and the dog looked at him attentively. “They’re a mess and they expect me to understand them,” he denied, taking a bite of his ice cream in delight while watching Yoohyeon try to tell a story without moving too much or getting too carried away. His gaze went to the couple in front of her, noticing Minji paying total attention to every word his aunt said and Siyeon nodding with a glow in her eyes he thought was red for a second. “That’s why I like you, you’re a lot easier to deal with.”

Pie barked quietly for him to smile and he hugged her, hoping the trio’s talk would be long enough for him to be able to get another ice cream without getting scolded too much.


	2. Thorns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They come with thorns too, don't they?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I hope everyone is doing well. How was the concert? I sure did have a great time and the girls were glowing (there's always space to love them more)   
> Before anything, I would like to thank you guys for the kudos and comments. Definitely didn't expect this good reaction so, yeah, I'm happy. Other than that, enjoy!

_ > Take the chance while you can _

Yoohyeon came into their lives like an asteroid colliding into a peaceful ocean.

Minji and Siyeon had enough experience with humans, most of them being terrible, to have their reservations about the kind. Staying away was more than just a matter of protection and they probably doubted any poor soul who came across their path, however, it didn’t take much to notice that Yoohyeon was far, really far from the caricature they had in their minds. 

What she had in height and awkwardness she had in adorableness and though at first, it was a little difficult to get a real dialogue to start between them, once it did, they lost themselves in it over and over again. Minji quickly found herself caught by every word the woman said and the more she talked, the more Minji wanted her to keep going; Yoohyeon was a great storyteller when she wasn’t too focused on small details out of nervousness and the little habits expressed here and there just made her even more endearing.

Siyeon wasn’t too far behind. She found herself liking more and more the low, at times loud when she was excited or shy, voice as they talked and watching the emotions cut through the human’s face was more entertaining than the darkness setting outside the big window. Yoohyeon was an expressive person and each reaction composed a movie that the vampire was slowly starting to get captivated by. 

Taking the opportunity, Minseok did get more ice cream than he was supposed to, something that he wouldn’t dare to complain about, but this was pure courtesy of the attention of the trio turned to each other completely — he was aware of that. Usually, he hated feeling left out but Yoohyeon looked like she was having a lot of fun and he was good with his satisfied self and Pie keeping him company. 

A simple encounter became a weekly compromise without them having the intention to. The week spent after Yoohyeon and Minseok’s arrival in their lives felt like a dare from the universe, with both vampires constantly thinking about the duo and trying to pretend they wouldn’t feel a single bit sad if they never run into each other again and maybe it was the curiosity, perhaps the necessity to kill any expectations that could arise, though Yoohyeon and Minseok himself had slipped a hint or two about them visiting the same park every Saturday, but the vampires were there the next weekend, on the same spot, waiting for the two to show up.

Just like this four weeks passed.

Turns out the kid had taken a liking to the vampires, especially Minji, and at some point of the second meeting he made it his personal mission to coax Pie into liking Siyeon too. The woman wouldn’t admit it, but he had caught her looking at the small dog with a sad expression more than a few times and in his mind, Pie’s acceptance of her was fundamental for them to work out and he was ready to put all his efforts on making it happen  — he didn’t have much progress at first, but at least the dog didn’t felt as annoyed by her presence as before .

Suddenly having something to wait for became an addition to the energy of the couple. Siyeon had to acknowledge that sometimes the dullness of the routine could be unsettling and the times where she and Minji weren’t working or writing and singing together were the worst, so having something to look forward to was refreshing.

It was in the fourth week that they finally faced some problems.

Even before arriving at their spot, they could sense how sad Minseok was, and getting closer they also noticed Yoohyeon wasn’t as cheerful as she usually did, even if she tried to conceal it with a smile and a comforting look. The moment the little boy recognized them approaching, he quickly ran over to hug Minji and the vampire couldn’t do more than just getting on her knee and opening her arms to receive him while Yoohyeon waved to them.

“What happened?” She mumbled and he hugged her tighter.

“I’m going back next monday,” the tearful voice said. “Dad says we can’t stay more this time.”

Vague mentions of Yoohyeon’s brother living in Japan came to mind and Minji looked up for Siyeon, finding her with pressed lips and shoulders as down as Yoohyeon’s. She sighed, standing up with the boy in her arms.

“Hey, look at me,” she caressed his back. “Don’t be sad, okay? I’m sure next time you come back will be even better and I can guarantee that if your parents could, they would stay,” he nodded and she smiled, fixing his hair for a bit. “Let’s have the best day today then. Let’s make it memorable.”

“Will you be there when I come back?” The expectant expression pulled a string on her throat and she looked at Siyeon and Yoohyeon for a second.

“That we will see,” she answered.  “But don’t worry about it now, there’s fun waiting for us and we can’t waste time.”

The trio did their best to really make that day a good memory for the kid and this time they didn’t even care about the day fading into a darker shade of blue or the watch in Siyeon’s wrist announcing that they should’ve gone home hours early. So it wasn’t a surprise that the couple refused to let Yoohyeon and Minseok go back by themselves and the moment the boy passed through the door they could clearly see how drained he was.

“I’m gonna miss him,” Yoohyeon whispered as they watched him sleepily stumble through the living room. “Thank you for everything, really.”

“I’m gonna miss him too,” it was Siyeon who murmured these words and Minji didn’t hide her surprise over the pout and teared up eyes of her girlfriend. Yoohyeon just chuckled and nodded, watching the couple. “He’s the best kid I’ve ever known.”

“The first one who didn’t scare you away, you mean,” Minji teased but hugged her waist, pressing a chaste kiss on her clothed shoulder. “But I think we should be the ones thanking you two, these past few weeks have been great.”

And the anxious tension fell over them again, like it did uncountable times through every meeting they had. They could talk, laugh, and act like friends who have known each other for years, but in the small breaks, hidden in the cracks of the uncertainty they couldn’t quite understand, there was this feeling pushing them, whispering words of encouragement for something they had no idea what it was and guiding them for an unfamiliar destination. 

“Can you give us your number?” Siyeon asked out of nowhere, interrupting the human who was ready to say her goodbye. “I know we meet through him, but I still wanna know what happens with the murderer of that story from earlier.”

It was just an excuse, a way of saying “ _ please, don’t go just yet _ ” without exposing how much she didn’t want Yoohyeon to vanish from her side so easily, and the three were aware of that. Still, Yoohyeon just shook her head a little and accepted the two phones extended to her faster than she expected to see.

“I’m working and going to college, so if I don’t answer quickly or disappear for two or more days, know that I’m alive, just too busy to get the phone.”

She watched Minji smiling widely as she read how her name was saved by her and Siyeon tried to hide her own reaction by looking at the ground. 

“Do you know the implications of accepting us in your life?” Minji asked half-joking, half-serious, holding her girlfriend’s hand tightly. There wasn’t a vocal agreement between them, but they knew, they almost felt what the other was thinking and this was a leap they were taking with caution, even if the thrill of going against their own rules never left. 

Yoohyeon shrugged, calmly running a hand through her brown hair.

“I think it’s more of the other way around. Do  _ you _ know the implications of accepting me?” 

A muffled voice called for the tall woman before any of them could answer and she screamed in response, looking apologetic as she stepped back.

“I need to go, but send me a message when you two get home so I know you’re ok,” she shyly waved and closed the door quickly after the couple’s response. 

Minji and Siyeon stood in silence for a few seconds, looking at the white door as if their brains weren’t able to process that the woman had left. 

“What have we gotten ourselves into?” Minji mumbled.

“I have no idea, but I have no protests over it.”

They looked at each other, communicating without words in that way they liked so much until Minji broke into a grin.

“You look like the prettiest woman in the world, my love.”

Siyeon rolled her eyes and pushed her girlfriend to the side with a chuckle.

_ > Jumping off this cliff never felt so tempting _

Life was different now.

It wasn't just Minji and Siyeon living and walking like the world was theirs to own or like they had enough power to control time with their bare hands anymore. No, now they had Yoohyeon, and they did all of this with her by their side. 

Her integration into their routine was slow, though it didn’t feel like it. Eventual texts one day or two when Yoohyeon was available became nightly calls when the human was too tired to even keep her eyes open. One or two meetings in between breaks became a mandatory thing for them to have enough strength to end the more difficult days. A mention here and there about how late Yoohyeon would get home every day soon resulted in both Minji and Siyeon taking turns to accompany the girl back home when her shift ended later than it should.

Accepting the new presence in their lives, even with all the issues a human could bring, felt as natural as enjoying the afternoon breeze, and the more their friendship grew, the more they wanted to keep her close. Yoohyeon proved to be a trustworthy person, always respecting the invisible lines they had to draw from time to time and only stepping forward when she had a positive response, only when she felt allowed to, and the same went when it came to her. 

The couple knew that living mostly exiled from society had its consequences and they tried their best to be careful with words and actions in order to never make the woman uncomfortable or too suspicious in a way they would hardly be able to surpass. Rules had changed, as well as their priorities, and if they wanted to protect the precious treasure they found, they would have to work for it, which proved itself to be not much of a difficult task but more of a tricky one — no one could disconcert Siyeon like Yoohyeon did and Minji started questioning her own resistance once she recognized that she would rather die than deny anything to the girl.

Their house had probably never seen real food before Yoohyeon and the two had to spend days after days researching and coming up with ways of dealing with future problems they could face, including how they would explain things like the location of their mansion, the mansion itself, the reason for some of their habits including their worryingly strict diet and internal jokes; how weird their friends were and an unending range of other things they could only hope for the human to never ask about.

Resisting temptations wasn’t too hard — although the smell of her blood had made them dizzy more than a couple of times —, hiding the reality of certain events and occasions during casual conversations developed into an instinct and if a dangerous hint about their vampirism escaped they could rely on Yoohyeon’s terrible memory or in their own skills of turning things around in their favor. However, getting attached to Yoohyeon was a funny thing and the feelings growing with them ended up having some interesting outcomes. 

“They really think they did something here, huh?” Minji had a disapproving look directed to the screen. “We didn’t dress like this back then, we didn’t act like this either. How could they come up with such an absurd plot?!” Her annoyance was getting bigger with each minute the movie went on. “I feel personally offended, I didn’t buy a million dresses for-” 

She stopped in the middle of her sentence when a gaze of pure confusion burned her head while Siyeon’s subtly soulless expression and almost desperate signs for her to stop finally made her realize her mistake.

She blinked. Once. Twice.

“Or maybe it’s not so bad, perhaps each place had a different styling and way of behaving,” her voice went low insanely fast and for a second she resembled a kid who had just been scolded by her parents. “Maybe the screenwriter isn’t so bad and I’m just judgmental,” she concluded, praying internally for Yoohyeon to not question her choice of words. 

“What was that about?” Yoohyeon completely forgot about the movie and Minji wanted to punch herself.

“You see I’ve read a lot of books about supernatural creatures and stuff and sometimes I get annoyed about some details and how media portray them,” she looked to the wall in order to avoid Yoohyeon’s curious eyes, and Siyeon laying on her side with “defeat” written all over her forehead would be funny if the situation weren’t tragic. 

“And you want to judge me for being invested in cartoons?” Both vampires almost fell from their seats out of relief when the youngest decided to ignore all the underlying messages of what she just heard. “Oh, don’t be shy, it’s okay to like this stuff.”

Minji looked with trembling, questioning eyes at her girlfriend when Yoohyeon got closer to her and Siyeon pointed to her cheeks, indicating the light flush there as an answer.

_ Blushing? _

“I know, I know, it’s just that sometimes I forget to contain myself,” she smiled nervously as Yoohyeon’s fingers traced her cheeks with a huge grin. 

“There’s no need to contain yourself, Minji. Sharing your interests isn’t a reason for shyness or shame,” she caressed the vampire’s shoulder before urging her for a hug that made Minji’s dead heart want to run from her chest.

The truth is that the couple were usually the ones who started physical contact with Yoohyeon. She was rather shy when it came to that and it took her some weeks to finally understand how much of affectionate beings the two were and though she never denied any of their demonstrations, mainly because she knew Siyeon would probably die if she was restricted from showing and receiving love, it was like there was a thin wall between them, one only she could break.

It was in moments like this, when she threw her awkwardness to the air and relented to the ongoing desire under her skin, that they were left speechless. Because every hug mattered. Every small touch, every delicate act of care, every intertwine of their fingers, every kind kiss from her made them feel less connected to the ground underneath their feet and closer to the atmosphere, ready to fly away and forget anything that lived outside their protected bubble. 

Living with Yoohyeon meant looking at things differently. Meant valuing simple things for what they were and appreciating even what would go unnoticed by their loose perception. Meant relearning things they swore they knew perfectly, reanalyzing what they didn’t even dare to touch anymore, and finding out that not all answers were theirs like they came to believe.

She brought light, but she also had a unique power in her hands that made them more conscious, more stable, and clear-minded than they’ve been before. 

And for that they were grateful. So fucking grateful. Because even if she was far from being perfect, Yoohyeon was probably a gift to humanity given by a too-generous god or something like that with her way of dealing with life, people, and everything that came with being alive. She had her problems and the scars, even some untreated wounds in her skin, would appear when she thought no one was paying attention, but she was  _ so much more,  _ in ways that she didn’t seem to realize and in more ways than any song Minji could write was capable of describing  — and she tried  _ so many times _ . 

“I’m telling you, I was a really lonely kid, I had like three friends and only because they came to talk to me first,” she said one day as they were resting from part of the clean-up on the mansion. Siyeon wasn’t sure if she liked that amount of free space anymore. “Nowadays I still have problems in not just making, but keeping friends too. I feel like they will leave at some point, maybe from boredom.” Siyeon immediately sat on the couch and Minji had her eyes focused on the woman laying with an arm covering her eyes, a dry smile on her lips. “I wouldn’t blame them.”

“What do you mean?” Siyeon mumbled with furrowed brows and a low tone.

Yoohyeon shrugged, adjusting herself to the soft place.

“Relationships are complicated and not everyone is willing to be comprehensive,” the vampires exchanged glances. “I don’t even know why you two are still here,” it sounded more like a confession and this wasn’t the first time she let out something of that sort on the last few days.

“Do you want a list of all the reasons? Maybe a well-elaborated powerpoint presentation?” Minji looked serious. “Leaving isn’t something we’ll be doing.”

“You’re not getting rid of us so easily, this isn’t a contract you can break so soon in the game,” Siyeon completed.

In a second Minji was right next to her and Siyeon was jumping to her couch to look at her in that special way that made Yoohyeon’s stomach twist. She fully opened her eyes just to smile at them.

“Thank you,” she allowed Minji to hold her hand and immediately welcomed Siyeon in her arms. 

_ > Losing _

“So you, have a human friend now?” Bora asked as she made herself comfortable beside her wife, watching her friends with curiosity. “And don’t try appearing surprised, I can smell her all over you two.”

Yubin chuckled when Siyeon checked her own clothes by reflex and Minji just sighed, caressing Siyeon’s hand.

“Surprising, isn’t it?” Siyeon cleared her throat. “She’s pretty cool, you would like her.”

“Okay, we’re really acting like this isn’t something both of you said would never happen?” Yubin arched an eyebrow and Minji winced, making Bora chuckle. “Karma sure is a bitch.”

“Thanks for reminding, Yubin,” Minji rolled her eyes with a grin. Despite everything, she still thought Yubin was adorable.

“Then I assume she doesn’t know about what you really are,” Bora continued, changing the playfulness in her face to confusion when Siyeon averted her gaze. 

“About that, things might've gotten a little out of hand,” Siyeon pondered for a second, already waiting for the questions flying like bullets in the air.

With a lot of effort and work, they were able to keep their mask intact for a while and things truly felt like they were going alright. Yoohyeon seemed completely oblivious and even if she had questions, which they were sure she did, she would get satisfied with a simple explanation and move on, not caring enough to push them to talk.

Their boat started to sink in a night that should've ended as perfect as it started.

They were just coming back from the amazing bowling night they had with Yoohyeon and her cousin Gahyeon and her girlfriend Handong. Both couples were meeting for the first time and they clicked well with each other, with Siyeon and Handong quickly finding interests in common to talk about until they were tired and Minji automatically adopting Gahyeon as one of her protégés. 

The group was more than happy, almost giddy with all the fun they had together, and both Gahyeon and Handong didn’t take much to understand why Yoohyeon adored them so much. They could appear intimidating, cold at most, but they were kind-hearted people and Gahyeon even forgot to interrogate the two about their intentions with her precious cousin when all she could find was sickenly sweet smiles being directed at the tall woman and pairs of hands always ready to catch or protect her when she tripped or made a mess.

The talk was coming and going as tiredness started to show itself and they were just about to turn to finally reach the right street when a far away sound startled Minji and Siyeon. They didn’t have enough time to think about what they were doing or if they should break their disguise like that. Impulse acted for itself as memories flooded their minds and a second later they were using their speed to get the trio out of the way of both cars approaching with crazy speed. Siyeon worked as a shield for Gahyeon and Handong, holding them so they wouldn’t have the chance to move, and Minji rushed to protect Yoohyeon’s ears as she instinctively curled on Minji’s chest, the violent sound of the heavy tires against the asphalt needing less than a minute to reach them. 

The sight of the big black cars filled with vampires through the smoke announced who they were and what they wanted, leaving no doubts for both vampires who didn’t waste time. Keeping the humans behind them, they stepped forward as one window went down.

“Get out of here,” Siyeon mumbled. Vampires had good hearing, especially those, so she didn’t need much volume. “This isn’t your area and you won’t get what you want here.”

“You’re holding what I want,” an amused voice said and Minji tightened her grip in Yoohyeon’s arms, her irises turning into a bright red. “We’ve been waiting for the right moment, you’re the ones ruining it.” 

“I’m not gonna say it again, so pay attention,” Minji’s voice was stable, showing just enough hostility for them to get her point. “Get the hell out of here and don’t come back, if we find out you tried anything you’re fucked. No business, no humans, and some years in jail are enough?” They knew the hidden threats in her words and both vampires heard annoyed sighs coming from the cars. “Dare to touch them and you’re dead, do you hear me?”

“Who are you to say this?” A familiar disdainful whisper echoed and Siyeon looked at her girlfriend, aware of her every movement. “They aren’t worth your time,  _ princess _ ,” he laughed forcefully, followed by his colleagues. Minji had to use all her rationality not to jump on the black car and rip his throat in half. “And Siyeon, my friend, we shared similar tastes, didn’t we? Why keep them alive? You knew how to have fun back then. Blood right from the source is always better.”

Siyeon swallowed the bitter taste in her tongue as Minji decided to intervene.

“You have one second to disappear. Want me to remind you all of our last encounter?”

Minji brought Yoohyeon closer, Siyeon caressed both Gahyeon and Handong’s back. The silence was broken by a revolted groan.

“Humans are truly a bother to our existences and traitors like these are the worst,” the leader tapped on the steering wheel and the window went up, both cars leaving quickly after and making sure to leave a huge noise behind.

The air she didn’t need left her lips and when the two turned around, what they found made their world shatter. The trio looked terrified to death, with Gahyeon having tears on the edges of her eyes, Handong struggling to keep herself standing and Yoohyeon curled against the wall with trembling hands, all of this being a response to the true power of vampires, one they learned how to conceal in order to blend in. The wild red of their eyes denounced who they truly were and as they calmed themselves and got closer, the pure fear in Yoohyeon’s face was powerful enough to crush them.

“Hopefully they won’t come back. We can’t stop their dirty work but protecting what’s ours is our right,” Siyeon laid her head on Minji’s shoulder, already expecting the speechless expressions her friends had. 

“Why are you always stumbling on criminals? What a luck you two have,” Bora shook her head. “The humans still tag along or they gave up?”

Minji chuckled. 

“They were more interested in the fact that our eyes change colors than the fact that we’re vampires,” Siyeon laughed a little. “Handong even made a Q&A with me to check what was wrong and what was right about us. She complained about the movies.”

The laughter died slowly and the unsettling quietness made the married couple express their confusion.

“If everything is okay, then why do you look so down?” Yubin tilted her head, the moment they didn’t want to come finally arriving. 

Telling the truth was easier than they expected it to be. Sure Yoohyeon had some problems understanding everything and the process of taking the lies out of the truths they told, clarifying points, retelling stories with honesty, and clearing any possible misunderstanding was a long and at times tiring one, but it was worth it. Worth it because Yoohyeon, even with all the reasons to shut them down and leave, accepted what they had to offer, accepted their motivations, and tried her best to keep up with all the new and unpredictable information she got. Worth it because they didn’t have to hide or lie anymore. Worth it because it proved how strong their bond is.

And things were going well. So well for them. Until subtle cracks started to manifest around the house they built together.

As they were relearning and revisiting memories, a few things got more evident, mostly involving their feelings towards the human they became so fond of. Questions began to pop here and there and a voice, one they shared as a life guide, finally found its volume and decided to free itself for them to hear and not only that.

It was a command for them to look closer to what they thought was just a normal detail, to really translate the hidden meanings of not so random phrases, and to truly get to know the feeling that made them ache with butterflies creating life inside their hearts. It was a challenge, as well as an invitation, and they had no way out of it.

“What do you think it is?” Siyeon whispered after a long talk they had about the topic, having Minji’s head on her lap and their hands together. 

“I have a guess, but I’m not sure,” they looked at each other, Minji holding a comforting smile to try containing the mess her girlfriend’s head was. “Let’s not freak out, maybe it’s just a stupid thing we couldn’t care less about,” she tried and Siyeon couldn’t deny her a small smile.

“You’re optimistic.”

That night they decided not to sleep and both found solace alone, with Siyeon locking herself with sheet music and handwritten lyrics all over the floor in an attempt to find her answers in what was closer to her soul and Minji making herself comfortable in the backyard of the mansion with the stars there to keep her company and maybe guide her thoughts to the right destination.

The night went by and soon the sun was asking for permission to rise and the moment the clock turned, trying to dictate when the moon should or not be visible, they realized. 

It was a simple guess at first, nothing too elaborated or deep, just some lost words coming together to form a sentence that felt just like the truth; it had always been there with them, whether they recognized it or not, and so familiar that they didn’t even flinch when the meaning behind it got clear.

Until it hit them. Really hit them. And they shot up from their seats just to run through the house. 

They stopped right in front of each other, panting as if they had run on a marathon that lasted for months nonstop.

“We have a problem,” Minji said with urgency, hands on her hips.

“We do,” Siyeon nodded but stopped for a second and furrowed her eyebrows. “Do we?”

Minji frowned.

“Do we?” She asked herself, gesturing after remembering what she was meaning to say. “Focus here” she closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose before mustering the courage to look her girlfriend dead in the eyes and say the words forming knots around her muscles. “I’m in love with Yoohyeon.”

_ Well, what a surprise. _

“Me… Too?” She faltered, letting the silence help them assimilate it. “I’m in love with her too. So fucking in love,” her voice sounded weak as her eyes got lost and Minji gently took her in a tight hug, torn between relief and fear. “What do we do now?” She was suddenly out of breath and her girlfriend’s chest tightened. 

“I don’t know,” Minji sank her hand in Siyeon’s hair, trying to keep the bad and worried thoughts from attacking them. “But we’ll figure it out.” 

It was so obvious. Painfully obvious at this point. And if both vampires weren't so caught up on the hurricane threatening to destroy their safe haven they would be laughing at their own slowness and cursing their own obliviousness, holding the good feeling finally having the opportunity to show itself a lot closer than the terror that made them tremble against each other, but Siyeon has always been the one able to foresee danger before it even thought of attacking and by the way she looked like a frightened kid who just lost their pacifier when they watched Yoohyeon go the next day, Minji knew things would move to a not so good road. 

“Why are you two acting like the world is ending?” Yubin asked with a hint of amusement, though what prevailed was worry. It has been a long time since her friends looked so conflicted and this put both her and her wife on alert.

“Other than the fact that we’re dooming her to this?” Siyeon’s index finger traveled between her and her girlfriend. “She’s leaving,” Minji closed her eyes over said words, wincing as if just the thought of it sent high waves of electricity over her body. 

“What?!” Bora jumped in her seat. “Why?”

The response took more than just a handful of seconds to come and that was the confirmation the couple needed to realize that their friends couldn’t be more serious about what was happening and their feelings for the human.

Realizing their love for Yoohyeon was a hell of a work. They had to revisit their timeline, take a different look over what they weren’t able to understand back then, and search for the clues life had thrown at them multiple times along the months without them suspecting.

Siyeon found out that she indeed loved to see Yoohyeon around the mansion, loved even more when she sat next to her while she was playing and just stayed there, feeling the notes hug her and smiling lightly like she was at home, like peace had found its way there and befriended her. She loved the sight, but until her realization, she hadn’t really grasped the translation of the melodies she would play only when Yoohyeon was next to her. She hadn't given a name for that maddening desire of hearing the girl sing along to the love songs Minji wrote, to fully be allowed to listen to her sweet yet powerful voice muttering such confessions without a thin barrier separating them. 

Moments like these had become their thing, a place where the truth would be laid out in the sun without rules to restrain it, and this was both a blessing and a curse, because Siyeon knew her head wasn’t where it should be and knew that the images her mind liked to sketch were just an invitation to a sinful path she tried to avoid, but rarely succeeded — her overly intense dreams said that much. _Oh, how they did._

Minji started to put her puzzle together with a deafening silence she wasn’t used to, mostly because Yoohyeon was such a loud existence in her head that it felt almost like an affront to challenge it. Some pieces had the scent, the lines, and the essence of Yoohyeon while others were simple representations of moments where she felt like falling; falling for her little habits, for her ways of speaking depending on her mood, for her laugh and bright smile that reminded Minji of old poems and orange sunrises, for her cuteness that contrasted dangerously with the commanding, confident and magnetic self that hid beneath the shyness and hesitance. 

As she traveled through the vivid memories, the answers stood right there on the walls, on the dark hallways, and in the desire tearing every fiber of her body apart, teasing the monster that still lived inside her and uncontrollably pushing her to forget her own patience and go for what she has been dreaming about for far too long — not being able to kiss those rosy lips was driving her crazy. Just imagining how they tasted made her light-headed. 

Having each other’s hands to hold through this was the only thing that kept Siyeon and Minji from losing their constant battles. Because they had realized they loved Yoohyeon with their whole beings, but they still loved each other, still wanted each other, and refused to live in any way that didn’t involve them together. 

But once again they had walked down to that place of wonder they had escaped years ago, even if not for the same reasons. They had different things to worry about now, Yoohyeon wasn’t like them, and while they had gone through hell and back, they didn’t even know what hell looked like for her.

“I’m not that scared about her not loving us back,” Siyeon said with her forehead pressed against Minji’s back while they rested after a stressful day. “I’m more scared of her loving us. What will we do if she does? How unfair it is?” 

Minji caressed the arms and hands holding her like she was about to vanish at any moment.

“And what if the feeling isn’t just a momentary thing?” She knew she was going too far with the what-ifs, but she couldn’t help it. “We’re basically immortals, Minji, we can’t even taste her amazing food because we can’t eat!” Her voice wavered and Minji took a painful breath. “I didn’t want to see her get old even before finding out about my feelings and now I’m terrified of it. I don’t wanna lose her. I  _ can’t _ lose her.”

“Enough of thinking, baby,” Minji whispered, silently asking for her to get closer and hug her tighter. They both needed it. “We’ll go insane before reaching these answers if we keep this pace,” she said with weak playfulness and Siyeon snuggled on her neck. There was no place safer than there.

“I just want her so much it hurts,” Siyeon pressed her eyes, the certainty of that banging in her head like a broken record. “I can’t take it anymore.”

“I know, Siyeon,” she swallowed down her own worries. “I know.”

And as if things weren't already hard, one night it got clear how the human was starting to put a distance between them. The calls started to be less frequent, so did their text exchanges, and their weekly meetings were cut short in a way that broke them, especially after the two weeks where Yoohyeon simply didn’t show up nor answered them in any way.

The explanation for this only came during Gahyeon’s birthday party, to which they were personally invited by the girl. 

“As you all know, I and my beautiful girlfriend will be moving to Japan next month,” she started with Handong holding her by the waist while a few guests smiled and cheered. “The news is that Yoohyeon is coming too. Before moving we’ll be visiting my parents and then going straight to Yoohyeon’s brother's house.”

The information made the small smiles on their faces drop in an instant and Minji rushed her gaze to Yoohyeon sitting across the room, searching for a confirmation of it not being true. The tall woman was pale, taking only one second for her to grimace when the sight of Siyeon looking down and Minji trying not to show her hurt made her chest ache, and Gahyeon looked at her cousin in confusion after noticing the cold silence of the vampire couple, just then realizing that Yoohyeon hadn’t talked about it with them like they agreed on previously.

Gahyeon just pointed to her cousin with a serious look for her to go talk to them, being supported by Handong who sighed heavily at what was about to happen, and it didn’t take much for them to be excusing themselves from the party to go talk in the quiet kitchen of the apartment the cousins shared.

“I’m sorry, I swear I was going to tell you,” she started with too much guilt to face Minji. Siyeon had given up on looking up. “It’s just… I haven’t felt good here in the past few months, you know? I feel so empty sometimes, so not like myself, and something tells me I need something else. Maybe a little bit of change.” She licked her lip before biting it subtly, trying her best not to falter. “Maybe in a different place I’ll find what I need, and if I’m lucky, even that part of me that I lost without wanting.”

The two kept their silence, their minds too busy to say something coherent and Yoohyeon knew they wouldn’t take the news well. 

“I’m really sorry, please believe me.”

“Yooh,” Minji locked her little finger with Siyeon’s to be strong enough to look the human in the eyes without revealing the high-pitched noise of her heart cracking. "It's okay. We’re happy you’re doing it for yourself if you’re not happy and needing space, freedom, or a new life. I just wished you had opened up to us,” her free hand caressed the taller’s shoulder, her voice waving just a little. “We’re your friends, Yoohyeon. We’re here for the good moments but also for the hard and difficult ones too.”

Siyeon finally looked up as she held Yoohyeon’s hand and nodded.

“We’re here to support you, aren’t we?” They smiled at each other. “When are you leaving?”

“March 1st.”

_ Damn, they didn’t even have a whole month to spend with her. _

She watched the information be swallowed by them with a failed attempt to conceal how agonizing the idea was and she just stood there waiting. Waiting for something. For a sign. For a reason. Anything.

“We’ll have to rearrange our schedule then,” Minji said and Siyeon smiled as big as she could, which wasn’t much.

Minji didn’t understand the ghost of disappointment in Yoohyeon’s face, but she tried not to focus on that. She had a bleeding heart to try gluing together again, an extremely sad girlfriend to take care of and a  _ friend _ to support even when all she wanted was to plead, to beg for her to stay.

This time they sat together on the couch and while Minji tried to be the anchor both she and Siyeon needed, she let it pass unnoticed how Gahyeon and Yoohyeon exchanged knowing looks, with the tall woman just nodding before pretending her eyes weren’t missing the glow only two voices could bring to her. 

_ > The clock strikes, the shadows take over the moon; this is my last shot _

They tried their best not to let the news drag them down. They tried as much as they could to respect Yoohyeon’s decision and give her all the support she needed for such a change in her life, and for the most part, they had enough success to feel relieved. 

Later on, the three talked with honesty about it and it wasn’t necessary too much explanation to understand Yoohyeon. Recognizing that she was going through a terrible time away from their knowledge only hurt less than seeing how much she longed for what she had before. It wasn’t about the change of countries or living in a place that she wasn’t used to, it was about getting back the will to really live instead of just surviving, about finding the path to herself instead of faking someone she no longer liked.

It was so clear how much the ties of that unwanted reality bruised her wrists and they would do anything to make it stop, to help her find the right way of letting go of what she didn’t want anymore and to capture back the happiness she deserved. 

But this didn’t stop them from feeling like they were losing more than just her constant presence.

Their worry didn’t revolve around her leaving or how much time it would take for her to come back. What worried them was the certainty that  _ she would change _ while a new world waited to welcome her with open arms _. _ Yoohyeon would be in a different place, with little to nothing familiar to what she was used to, with new and interesting people to care for her, to love her, to fall for her, and to show her a side of life they couldn’t; to give her exactly what she needed when they could only dream about being able to do the same. It would be a question of weeks for their stability to shake and maybe in a couple of months she would realize that joy was just around the corner, whether she wanted to accept it or not. 

The small flame inside her would quickly become a blazing fire and what else would they be allowed to do other than just imagine how good it must feel to burn together with her? It was cruel and though something warned them about how selfish they were for wanting her to stay even when she had all the reasons to go, Minji couldn’t simply shut down the ache that ran under her skin whenever Yoohyeon decided to tell her plans and Siyeon wasn’t strong enough to not let the fear of the future get to her. 

The week before her last day there started with the counting of a bomb ready to explode. They moved on, helping Yoohyeon with everything she needed and even finding a break or two to get her and her cousin to have some fun, but whenever they had a moment of distraction the thoughts would come back to enslave and torture them as they tried to pretend they weren’t desperate for freedom too.

Siyeon started to spend less time with her piano and Minji barely talked as much as before, but they still held each other close. It was easier when they were like this, bringing the memory of a peace they could no longer afford that felt more reachable when they were on each other, when the silent touches along with loud screams numbed the chaos ringing in their ears and when the love they shared shielded them from the fury of a world they hated. 

When the night before Yoohyeon’s trip arrived the countdown got louder and the seconds starting and ending like a pendulum seemed to mock them and their submission. Staying still felt more difficult as the hours went by and they gave up on masking their anguish when the sun started to wake up, reminding them that at any moment Yoohyeon’s text would arrive and they would have to be collected enough to answer it and not worry her. 

Minji pressed her eyes for a while and took a few encouraging breaths before ending her steps on the stairs and following to her room. She was aware of what she could find inside it and part of her just wanted to let the feelings she had been fighting against consume her. She was exhausted, so fucking exhausted, and the smile she had was a mere consequence of the reminder that, after all, there was still some humanity inside her.

As she got closer she noticed the gap stopping the door from closing and when she looked inside, her body was forced to stay in place. The digital clock in the nightstand was turned off and Siyeon was sitting under the big window with her eyes lost in the trees and in the moon fighting to stay visible as the morning spread in the sky. In her arms laid the wolf plushie Yoohyeon has gifted her on her birthday and the emptiness in the face she has come to adore so much worked as a steel punch in Minji’s stomach.

She remembered how Siyeon would look like that whenever she gathered her things and left without looking back, remembered how this sight would torment her in every place she went and how she promised to never allow such reaction to reach her girlfriend again once she found out the heaven that was having Siyeon. And she knew Siyeon was hurting, knew she was trying to deny the aching thoughts playing with her mind and her heart, and though the vampire was strong, Minji had always dreaded the moment she would feel like losing her girl again. 

Her hand gripped at the door when she could almost hear the destruction inside her lover’s chest and without thinking too much she checked the watch on her wrist, at last relenting to the force weighing on her shoulders and burning her fingertips.

_ “Handong will be coming at seven, she’s always on time so I need to wake up early.” _

Yoohyeon’s amused complaint reverberated in her mind like a spell and she looked one last time to her girlfriend before turning back to run out of the mansion. She had exactly four minutes to reach the human’s house and a good competition with Handong and her polite ways.

Minji had never thanked the absence of people on the streets so much, otherwise, she had no idea how they would explain the black figure transporting itself between places as if no possible rules could stop it. She was running out of time, fighting against the waves of fear and hoping with her whole existence that her speed could help her make it before Yoohyeon vanished with no regrets. 

Yoohyeon checked if all her baggage was with her and took a deep, heavy breath as she unlocked her phone just to be faced by the picture of both Minji and Siyeon kissing her cheeks. A small smile made its way to her face as she pushed the bitter feeling to the side and started typing the text that her fingers refused to write. She hit send and waited, expecting to see her friend’s car at any moment, which didn’t take much to happen. 

Handong was just a few meters away when something suddenly collided with her, almost making her lose her balance and taking her to the ground. She felt arms wrapping around her waist, a scaring panting on her back warning her of the desperation from the other side, and Yoohyeon could recognize this touch, this scent, and this feeling even with her eyes closed and senses failing.

“Stay,” she begged in a quivering whisper. “I know I have no right to ask you this, but stay. Please stay.”

Yoohyeon felt her shirt getting wet and Minji’s sobs almost made her cry too.

The grey car stopped in front of her and the window was quick to go down. Handong bent just enough to get a good look at her friend and the scene she found left no doubts about the change of plans she waited to happen sooner or later.

Yoohyeon looked at her with hesitance but Handong just nodded, encouraging her to make the decision she had considered uncountable times before but wasn't brave enough to own until now. Her hands went to the ones holding her tight and the chinese woman smiled, assuring her with a gesture that they would talk about it later and leaving with the certainty that Gahyeon would be too pleased with the news to care about her cousin’s sudden choice to stay. 

She let Minji cry for long, difficult minutes until the hold on her body loosened enough for her to be able to move and take the face of the crying woman in her hands. She dried the tears there with furrowed brows as her heart protested the view and caressed the cold skin in order to let her know it was okay. 

“I’m here,” she said both to Minji and to herself. “I’m not going anywhere.”


End file.
